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Monday, December 8, 2014

Travel tips and tricks

If you can get from your house to your travel destination with no mishaps then I applaud you. While I am not well travelled by any means, I have travelled enough to have come up with some tips and tricks that will help you avoid some mistakes I have made. 1. Always print your documentsBe that a copy of your passport or your flight ticket, print it. There have been so many times that I have relied on my phone to bring up my flight ticket only to not be able to connect to the wifi to retrieve said email. Had I printed my documents, the stress that usually ensues would have been avoided. Even if you don't think you need to print your documents, you do.2. Print a map of where your hotel isOk, I've been to Japan twice and both times, we forgot to print a map of where the hotel was and how to get there. Japan has foreign street signs and getting anywhere is tricky. As with point one, you might not always find wifi and therefore, you are left to use street maps to assist in your navigation. If you can print a map with directions, even better! If you get lost, don't panic! Remember, you've gotten lost before and found your way and this situation will be no different. Panic is what sends people the wrong way.3. Have an electrics adaptor before you leave the houseNot all airports will have the adaptor you need for the country you are going to and trying to find one in a country that potentially doesn't speak English is stressful. Try and get one before you go and you will thank yourself. 4. Take cards against humanityOk, so this one applies if you're travelling in a group of three or more. We all know the plane ride can be boring, so why not play cards? This card game will be guaranteed to make you (and other passengers) laugh and is a great time killer. On that note, make sure you also have paper to record scores and a pen which will also come in handy when you are filling in the various departure/arrival/customs cards. 5. Book a rental card in advanceWhile also on this topic, make sure you pick a car that suits the terrain or landscape of where you are driving. Both times we have been to New Zealand, we've booked a rental car. The first one was a small Nissan Sunny (bad!!) and the second was a Toyota Rav 4 (good!!(. New Zealand is hilly and windy and the Nissan Sunny (we named him Richie) struggled. The first trip was a road trip and honestly, I wish we just went and upgraded the car. It was that bad and slow and struggled uphill. The second trip was based in Queenstown and we drove to the ski slopes every day. The drive up the mountains required something with power and the Rav 4 handled it with ease. Research where you will be driving and pick the right car and you're set.I have a lot more tips which I will come back and fill in another day.

3 comments
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I love the app MapsWithMe, I paid for the Pro version ($5) which lets you save pins, but even the free version let's you download maps for wherever you want and then works with your gps to show you where you are. Was great in Europe, I could find a supermarket in Venice with ease, and also tagged pins when I was physically in a location I wanted to remember (cute church I photographed etc). I've already downloaded the map for Iceland ready for next year ;-)

What great travel tips!!I make small currency conversion cards that I laminate and put in my wallet and pocket.It makes it super easy when you are in a shop trying to figure out how much something costs in the foreign currency.